Local Latino-pop progsters Allá are at Engine Studios this week, with Lupe Fiasco producer Derrick “Drop” Braxton behind the boards. They’re recording a single to be released through their Web site in early June, in time to promote their July 18 opening slot at Pitchfork, and a bonus track for a Congotronics tribute/remix album from Crammed Discs due later this year. The band also just wrapped a Coach House Sounds session that will be up online before their May 22 headlining show at Schubas.
Erase Errata front woman Jenny Hoyston has announced the lineup for the weekend-long Fabulosa Fest, July 16-18 at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma, California. A benefit for Bay Area GLBTQ organizations, it’s billed as an inclusive feminist gathering of “woman-centered music, film, arts and crafts” for “women, their families and friends of all genders.” Among the dozens of announced acts and DJs are Tara Jane O’Neil, the Portland-based trio Lovers, and Hoyston’s own group Lesbians. There’s also canoeing and a barn dance—which Pitchfork should take note of if it wants to up its game. Tickets and info at fabulosafest.com.
“Fucking With Me,” a 30-second snippet purported to be a microleak from the upcoming Kanye West record, made the rounds on hip-hop blogs this week. Within a few days most posts were down, as it was discovered it was actually Earlly MacMillion‘s “Bambi Daddy,” the single from his forthcoming mixtape. When Gossip Wolf reached MacMillion, he would not confirm or deny whether the cut contains a Kanye cameo or just sounds like Kanye. West’s tribute to rimming, Good Ass Job, is set for a June release and as of press time remained unleaked.
This past weekend, a new Chad Hugo-produced Lupe Fiasco track, “Love Letter to the Beat” (featuring Alicia Keyes), leaked, though there is little debate that it is from his upcoming Lasers album.
Earlier this year Metal Haven, the local juggernaut described by this paper as “one of the best heavy-metal record shops in the world,” announced the closest thing yet to an actual closing date: according to owner Mark Weglarz, the Ravenswood retailer will ring up its final sale sometime the last week of May. This Saturday there’s a farewell show at Reggie’s Rock Club with a lineup of killer locals including south-suburban thrashers Diamond Plate, Kommandant, and High Spirits. Tickets are available at Metal Haven and via Ticketweb.com.
Fresh Produce, for three months now Chicago’s only hip-hop producer battle, is slated to issue its first mixtape on May 15 via MikkeyHalsted.com and local hip-hop sites Fake Shore Drive and Rubyhornet. It includes appearances by Halsted, Rhymefest, and up-and-comer Gem Stones. Fresh Produce promoter Halsted, whose Kanye-produced demo led to a short-lived early-2000s deal with Cash Money, is releasing his own new album, Dark Room, in June. It’s executively produced by No I.D. To enter future Fresh Produce battles, send two tracks and contact info, including phone number, to mikkeyevents@gmail.com.